By Virginia Furness
LONDON (Reuters) – Barclays’ group head of sustainability Laura Barlow has stepped right down to pursue different alternatives, a spokesperson informed Reuters, the newest senior reshuffle amongst Britain’s prime banks because the sector faces elevated scrutiny over its local weather efforts.
In November, the sustainability chief at rival HSBC departed after her function was dropped from the financial institution’s government committee, which sparked considerations that the lender may water down a few of its local weather commitments. Banks’ local weather efforts have come more and more beneath the highlight after a number of Wall Avenue lenders just lately exited a U.N.-convened local weather alliance.
Barlow, who was accountable for main Barclays’ efforts to align with the world’s purpose of limiting local weather change and different sustainability aims, retired on the finish of 2024 to pursue a portfolio profession however will stay a senior advisor to the financial institution, the spokesperson mentioned.
Daniel Hanna, the financial institution’s head of sustainable finance for the company and funding financial institution, has since taken on an expanded function as group head of sustainable and transition finance, the spokesperson mentioned.
London-based Hanna reviews to the Head of Public Coverage and Company Accountability, Matt Hammerstein; Co-Head of Funding Banking, Cathal Deasy; and Head of World Markets Adeel Khan, the spokesperson mentioned.
Earlier than becoming a member of the financial institution in 2021, Barlow was head of enormous company and institutional banking at UK financial institution NatWest.
Beneath Barlow, Barclays early final 12 months moved to limit its lending to vitality firms increasing fossil gasoline manufacturing, though a report by campaigners nonetheless has Barclays among the many 10 greatest suppliers of finance to the fossil gasoline trade.
Barclays has additionally pledged to facilitate $1 trillion of sustainable and transition finance by 2030.
Whereas shareholders and local weather campaigners have broadly welcomed the banks’ steps to curb finance to the world’s most polluting sector, some Republican politicians have attacked lenders doing so in Barclays’ key U.S. market.
A 12 months in the past, Texas Lawyer Basic Ken Paxton mentioned Barclays wouldn’t be permitted to underwrite the state’s municipal bonds after it didn’t reply questions on its local weather technique. A financial institution spokesman on the time declined to remark.
Barclays made 31% of its whole income in america in 2023, up from 25% in 2022, a lot of it from its buying and selling enterprise and bank cards, and it’s eager to develop in business banking there, though the financial institution’s spokesperson mentioned the U.S. backlash performed no function in Barlow’s choice to depart.
(Further reporting by Lawrence White; enhancing by Simon Jessop and Tomasz Janowski)
